BCWS Holdover Response

For several months, we have actively engaged in over-winter holdover wildfire response.
Due to persistent drought and the intensity of wildfires in the 2023 season fires were able to burn far underground, presenting a challenge in both detection and complete suppression of holdover activity. Learn more about overwintering holdover fires here: blog.gov.bc.ca...
In the Prince George Fire Centre alone, over 7,300 kilometres of fire perimeter from the 2023 season have the potential for holdover fire activity. This distance is the equivalent of driving across Canada from Vancouver, B.C. to St. John’s, N.L.
In areas where wildfire crews have worked, digging several feet into the soil is required to extinguish hotspots that have been detected.
A large-scale monitoring and response plan was created in the fall of 2023 to address the potential for holdover fires becoming active this season. As a result of our efforts, only 12 areas saw growth beyond existing perimeters on the more than 80 wildfires considered holdover fires.
Learn more about our response to overwintering holdover wildfires in this video.